After multiple surgeries, he came to TIRR Memorial Hermann for rehabilitation.

"Chance had to learn to breathe again," his mother said. "He had to learn to eat again. He had to learn to speak with proper voice inflection."

The brain injury also affected his personality.

Dr. Jacob Joseph with TIRR's Brain Injury & Stroke Program explained, "Often times we have that the frontal lobe is affected, and that can deal with a lot of issues such as behavior, someone's memory, also controlling emotions."

The story of this "second chance" gripped his hometown Ganado, southwest of Houston.

Family and friends created a foundation in his honor called Unsend.org to raise awareness about distracted driving.

Victoria Bothe said, "Chance's accident was avoidable. I don't want any other person to go through what Chance has had to endure, you know, his mental pain and fatigue, his physical pain. It's just been enormous and he's committed to move forward, but it didn't have to happen this way."

Chris Bothe added, "For some good reason, God didn't take my life away. He left me here. But, I like to tell everyone do not text message and drive. Do not drink and drive or else you'll be in the same situation that I'm in."

Chris Bothe will continue outpatient therapy to help him reach his goal of returning to school and leading a normal life.

Copyright 2012 by Click2Houston.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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